Two grass fires at same time, both human caused

West Kelowna fire officials say they had to use all of their resources, including off-duty staff, to respond to a pair of grass fires that broke out around the same time in different areas.

Assistant fire chief Brent Watson said at 12:30 this afternoon, reports were received of a growing grass fire on the bluffs north-west of the Bennett Bridge.

Watson said fire behaviour was initially reported as Rank 1 but quickly grew to Rank 2 as the fire spread into heavier and denser brush.

“Crews deployed hose lines and were able to extinguish the fire with water from the engines on scene. Crews then constructed a hand guard around the perimeter of the fire, estimated to be 150 meters by 75 meters,” Watson said.

While West Kelowna firefighters were battling this blaze, reports came in about another grass fire at the opposite end of the city, this time in the Glen Canyon area of Glenrosa.

“A fire engine from the first fire was re-deployed, along with a tender truck from nearby Station 34 in Glenrosa. On arrival, crews found an abandoned campfire and a nearby pile of burning debris, both of which were quickly extinguished.”

The assistant chief said both fires were human-caused, and serve as a reminder that grass fire season is now upon us.

“West Kelowna Fire Rescue reminds residents to fully extinguish cooking and camp fires, and to use extreme caution when disposing of cigarettes and other smoking materials,” Watson advised.